Thursday, March 10, 2016

JD turned 4!

Our firstborn turned 4 years old on February 8 (a fact that he reminded us daily for 30+ days leading up to that day). This was the first year that he was beyond excited about his birthday. Paper chain to count the days: check! Party with family (lots of cousins!): check! Chocolate cake & ice cream: check! Special sweet cereal (Lucky Charms) and salad for dinner (his request) on the big day: check! It was such fun celebrating our little man!

Currently.....

Stats / Misc: JD weighs about 37 pounds. At the check-up today, he is around 70th percentile for weight and 55th percentile for height. No naps (probably not for the last year)--but this means he falls asleep super quick at night. Usually wakes up around 6:30am and joins me for my morning routine, or sometimes he crawls in bed with me for a quick snuggle before going to the kitchen for a pre-breakfast snack (usually animal crackers). Favorite foods: If you ask him this, he'll probably tell you: chocolate, lemon drops, M&M's, grapefruit, eggs (with no veggies or anything mixed in, "just plain"). His sweet tooth is alive and kicking.

Favorite color: I'm not sure if he has one, but he usually requests the purple plates and bowls.

Favorite toys: It depends on the day, but he still loves pretending with cars (usually an oversize flatbed truck, dump truck, and fire truck), legos, trains / tracks, and the play kitchen in his room. JD and Silas are usually doing something together when it's play time and it's so fun to watch them interact. When we have a nice day (and there have been a few this winter), then JD loves to ride his bike around the cul-de-sac....no training wheels, so he can sure ride fast!

Favorite book(s) and song(s): In January we started making regular trips to the library and he enjoys reading the "new" books together when we get home. Right now, we are simultaneously reading through 3 Bible books--because he loves them! We got him a new one for his birthday "Read and Learn Bible" and he's really enjoying it, lots of great questions and discussions. And his favorite song? Bryce sings two Spanish songs to the boys before bed most nights and I couldn't believe it when I heard the boys singing along!

Favorite things to do: Play with Dad and Silas. Unload the dishwasher all by himself. Help "scramble" the scrambled eggs. Watch shows on the computer (Clifford,Curious George, Boz the Bear, 3-2-1 Penguins). Go to church and Bible study (BSF) to see his friends. Have people over to our house.

Learning: Watching Justus learn new things is just such fun to watch. Numbers and letters are starting to click. He loves playing memory games.

Funny sayings:
"Silas, your project is.....you need to go over there and....." (I must say "project" a lot...)
After a long bout of diarrhea, we heard for the next week: "I'm having good poops."
"Silas, you're getting so big. Your head is getting big."

Snuggles on the couch

Mohawk! (very proud)

A hot chocolate treat

Enjoying some new library books

Playing his Cars matching game--and we tied!

Watching the boys on the monitor playing upstairs

Birthday cake!

Eating cake with cousins!

Opening his presents from dad and mom

Playing at the Children's Museum (way too busy to look up at the camera)